Suspected terrorists attack Brussels airport, Metro station

Two explosions have hit the Brussels Zaventem airport, killing up to 10 people and injuring dozens, according to hospital sources.

Shortly after the airport blasts on Tuesday morning, an explosion was reported at a metro station in the centre of the Belgian capital, close to European Union institutions.

Footage from the airport showed people running from the terminal building as plumes of smoke rose to the sky.

The powerful blasts at the country's main international airport caused parts of the ceiling to fall down and windows were shattered.

Brussels Central Station was being evacuated and all metro lines shut down after the blasts. Witnesses at the Molenbeek said people with blood on their faces were seen at the scene.

#inBELS | [video] Ambulances rijden af en aan op #Brussel Airport (Zaventem) aan vertrekhal [vid:@PaulLuxSartoria] pic.twitter.com/Q8tUvNU8gt

— roeland roovers (@r0eland) March 22, 2016

The interior ministry raised the country's terror alert to the highest level after the blasts.

Reuters news agency reported that shots were fired before the airport explosions went off.

Local media reported that the blasts happened near the American Airlines as hundreds of people were checking in.

The country had been on high alert since the arrest in Brussels last week of Salah Abdeslam , a key suspect in last year's Paris attacks that left 130 people dead.

Belgium's interior minister, Jan Jambon, said on Monday the country was aware of the risk of a possible revenge attack following the capture of 26-year-old Abdeslam.

"We know that stopping one cell can ... push others into action. We are aware of it in this case," he told public radio.